Florida State baseball seems determined to make legendary head coach Mike Martin’s 40th and final season a memorable one. Over the last seven days, the Seminoles have advanced to Omaha and moved into the winner’s bracket of the College World Series after dropping its previous five openers in Omaha.
Both wins have come against nationally-seeded programs and both wins have come in FSU’s final at-bat. The Seminoles clinched the trip by winning a thriller in 12 innings over LSU in the final game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional on Sunday night, 5-4.
Drew Mendoza played the role of hero by plating Mike Salvatore with a walk-off single to eliminate No. 13 national seed LSU. Nander De Sedas plated J.C. Flowers in the top of the ninth on Saturday night with a sacrifice fly for the game’s only run in a 1-0 win over No. 5 national seed Arkansas.
The Seminoles have moved into the winner’s bracket and will play Michigan on Monday. The Wolverines, like FSU, were one of the final teams in and opened their stay in Omaha with a win over a national seed by downing No. 8 Texas Tech, 5-3. To this point, the Seminoles are 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament with the last five wins coming against national seeds.
Football
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 10 nationally, fourth in ACC* (12 total commitments)
Men’s Basketball
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: N/A (0 total commitments)
Baseball
Record: 42-21
Ranking: No. 20 Collegiate Baseball
Past Week: (2-0), defeated LSU, 5-4 (Baton Rouge Super Regional); defeated Arkansas, 1-0 (College World Series)
Upcoming: vs. Michigan (College World Series, Monday)
Recognitions: Mike Martin (Perfect Game National Coach of the Year); Drew Mendoza, 3B (Baseball America All-American second team, D1Baseball All-American second team); J.C. Flowers, OF/P (Baseball America All-American second team, NCBWA All-American third team)
Big Picture: The Seminoles continue to surprise in Mike Martin’s final season. FSU can advance to the national championship series by winning its next two games.
Weekly Review
(13) LSU 4, FSU 5
Sunday, June 9 (12 innings, Baton Rouge Super Regional)
Florida State clinched its second berth in the College World Series in three years in the second game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional with a thrilling walk-off victory. Drew Mendoza ended the game with an RBI single to score Mike Salvatore in the bottom of the 12th inning. Antonio Velez earned the win by throwing 4.2 innings of relief without allowing a run or a walk and striking out six. Salvatore finished with three of the 10 hits for FSU. LSU drew even with two runs in the eighth inning. Devin Fontenot took the loss after not allowing a hit through six innings of relief. Antoine Duplantis finished 4-for-6 for the Tigers with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
FSU 1, (5) Arkansas 0
Saturday, June 15 (College World Series)
Florida State’s trip to Omaha started on the right foot Saturday night as the Seminoles scored the game’s only run in a 1-0 win over Arkansas. J.C. Flowers came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Nander De Sedas in the top of the ninth to break the scoreless tie. Flowers would work a perfect ninth to collect the save. Drew Parrish was outstanding for the Seminoles on the mound, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out nine in eight shutout innings. Isaiah Campbell allowed five runs and two walks while striking out 10 in seven shutout innings for the Razorbacks. FSU’s Matheu Nelson and Arkansas’ Christian Franklin each had two of the five hits for their respective teams.
Other News
2019 FSU wide receiver signee Maurice Goolsby will attend junior college to pursue a baseball career.
Both the FSU men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams finished in the top 10 in the USTFCCA comprehensive rankings, which combine the sports. The men finished tied for sixth while the women finished 10th.
FSU women’s golf’s Frida Kinhult is the No. 1 amateur player in the world, according to World Amateur Golf Rankings.
FSU volleyball is touring Europe with seven newcomers from June 22 to July 2.
*247Sports Composite rankings
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.
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